I am ticking off the list of ambitions for this old farm in central Vermont. The studio barn is coming into its own in a big way. When I first got the studio built in the barn loft, I knew I had to get to work immediately to build up an inventory of paintings. I had been sick for a number of years with Lyme and painting was partially on the back shelf, while I restored my health. When I arrived in Vermont, I took a big chance on this old house and farm, and thought I will push ahead instead of going small. I went big. And now it is paying off. I found that Vermont inspired me anew to paint new and different things. And as these paintings came to me, I grew in strength. I am grateful and inspired by other artists also on the FB forum. It has stimulated me to look at their work and efforts and to also share mine. I give a lot of credit to the other artists, who also share fearlessly and are out there working with passion and sound abilities. I'm finding my remote location is not a hindrence but a foundation for beauty and art. It's an effort to move paintings around, but for the process of the art itself, it is most important for this artist.
Yesterday Christa and I hung paintings. It was quite an effort, and I wondered if I was going to get it done. I couldn't seem to find the right location and combination of paintings and designs for the walls to satisfy me. But after a couple of hours of getting wires on frames that were missing, rearranging paintings on the floor by this wall or that, it all snapped together quickly and it only took about an hour to complete. Most of my paintings are large. So the physical effort of getting them down from the studio space and up on the walls was no small thing for two relatively small women. I'm very pleased to now be able to have more floor space in the studio itself, where there are still more paintings that need to get hung, and so everything is not just stacked nilly willy here and there. My standards are impossibly high now. The feel of a painting must hit the mark. I find myself working over some paintings while others are solid out the gate. So paintings must sometimes sit against the wall, until one's vision clears about where to go next with it. Sometimes they simply don't make it. There is nothing like a new painting though! One is full of hope and determination to see how it will turn out. And while you are involved, you can sometimes forget to enjoy the process. I do love the different ways in which paintings develop. Some are noodled into exquisteness while others are built with big timber beams of understanding. The expression meets the viewer where they are. I believe if a painting resonates with me on an honest level, it will for the viewer too and will find a home, sooner or later. Sometimes a painting is out the door in a few months and others linger for years.